My new book (is coming along...)
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 4:01PM
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Hi all! By that I mean Jen. Sorry for the lack of posting lately. I have been in hibernation, shut away in my studio working on the finals for my new book, 'Herman & Rosie' which comes out next year with Penguin (Australia). The text is pretty much down (but you can bet I'll be tweeking it until it goes to print) so I have been trying desperately not to get behind on my deadline (mid December - crap!) - I can hear it coming but can't see it yet, thankfully.
I thought it might be nice to show you a little bit of what I'm doing. The book is set in New York (hopefully that's going to be obvious) and centres around two lonely characters called Herman (a crocodile) and Rosie (a deer). I don't want to give too much away just yet but it's a dual narrative story about music, the city, connectedness and it has a horribly tragic ending. Actually I just made that last bit up. Wouldn't that be different! Anyway, in this scene above the two are watching the world whiz by. This is actually a cafe/restaurant I frequented in New York last November. It's a long way from finished (I have a bunch of animals to draw yet and some collage will replace line work) but it might give you an idea about how I work. This book is very much a mixed media book - specifically collage. I'm using all sorts of things; old papers, graph papers, photos and vintage engravings. Also a lot of crayon because I just love crayon. Especially my new Sennelier oil pastels. They are beautiful! I am having the most fun I have ever had with a book.
And here's a couple of finished illustrations - one from the start of the book and one much later.
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